Better than a Barbie!
Jenna
I always wished I had started playing golf earlier in life. I now know that I wished I had started at exactly the age of six!
My granddaughter, Jenna, always wants to do whatever we are doing so when we are hitting some balls in the back yard or putting on the carpet, she wants to do it too. The shortest club I could give her was a lob wedge and that was still too long for her. So, one day we just loaded her in the car and took her to get her very own set of junior clubs.
The next week-end we by-passed the backyard and went directly to the driving range. I set her up with range balls and started the process of teaching her to hit a golf ball. At first, I thought it was going to be hard to communicate to her the process – there are so many moving pieces to a golf swing but I totally under-estimated the young, porous mind! I showed her how to grip the club. She did it. I showed her the golf stance. She did it. I told her to keep her left arm straight. She did it. I told her to just look at the ball. She did it. I told her to swing slowly. She did it. And………the ball flew! At that moment, Jenna fell in love with the instant gratification of golf!
As expected, she was not content on the driving range and wanted to go to the course. Mainly to ride in a cart but who cares. 
We took her out on a Sunday evening when the course was emptying out and put a ball in the middle of the fairway. Grip, stance, swing. And the ball would fly!!! And again and again and again. It was amazing to see her take the simple instructions and just do it. Ah, to be able to learn like that again!
The best part was when we were in the clubhouse eating and watching women’s golf on the TV. Jenna loved the outfits and the ribbons in their hair. At the end of the tournament when the big silver trophy was presented to the winner, I asked Jenna if that trophy was better than a Barbie. She looked at it very seriously and said with complete conviction: Yes, way better than a Barbie!
I just love this article. We have to encourage more young girls to get involved in sports at a very young age. Kudos to you for giving your granddaughter a jump start on life. Jewell
Great story… building the ranks of women golfers, one at a time. I hope she really enjoys the game as she grows older.